UNICEF concerned 150K Iraqi children unprepared for cold

Displaced children are seen at the Hamam al-Alil camp in southern Mosul, Iraq. UNICEF expressed concern Monday for more than 150,000 children in the country it says are not prepared for colder temperatures. File Photo by Omar Al-Hayali/EPA

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- More than 150,000 Iraqi children are unprepared for freezing temperatures that are on the way, the United Nations children's agency said Monday.

Efforts are underway to find hard-to-reach families and supply them with winter clothing. Many are members of the Yazidi ethic group, who are internally displaced after years of war and violence.

"Winters in Iraq are harsh. It rains and snows and temperatures can fall below zero in the northern part of the country, where a majority of Yazidi and other displaced children live. It impossible to afford fuel for heating and winter clothing to keep their children warm," UNICEF said in the report Monday.

"The devastating floods have made this winter even more difficult for displaced children who are extremely vulnerable to hypothermia and respiratory diseases," Peter Hawkins, head of UNICEF operations in Iraq, said in a statement. "No child should be subjected to such risks. Every child deserves to be warm and healthy."

Earlier Monday, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nadia Murad, a Yazidi activist who was sold into slavery by the Islamic State in 2014. She shared the award with Dr. Denis Mukwege of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"As the world celebrates Nadia Murad's incredible story of survival and her work for human rights, let us remember that there are many vulnerable children in Iraq who still need our support, even if the worse of the violence may be over," Hawkins said.